philanthropy

陈增华 C.W. Chan

Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community, Chairman

CW Chan is a retired entrepreneur and social worker, active in voluntary community service for four decades. A graduate of The School of Social Service Administration, University of Chicago, he served for twelve years as Director of Psychiatric Social Work at Chicago’s Cook County Hospital as well as maintaining an independent diagnostic and evaluation consultation practice to various State agencies and Insurance companies before entering the business world in 1986.

CW was a founder of the Chinese American Service League and Board President of the organization from 1978 to 1986, before joining and subsequently serving 4 terms as President and 2 terms as Chairman of the Board of the Chicago Chinatown Chamber of Commerce when he entered the business world. In 1998, he assumed chairmanship of the Asian American Coalition of Chicago. In his varied leadership capacities, CW was able to impact and spearhead a wide spectrum of issues and projects that concerned and affected the Asian American community in general, and Chinese American community in particular. Following-up on experience with his mentor Mr. Ping Tom a decade before, he organized the community around the issues of 2000 Census and Redistricting, which subsequently evolved into the creation of the Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community (CBCAC), a coalition of major service organizations for the general prosperity and political empowerment of the community by achieving consensus through cooperation and collaboration.

Since inception, CBCAC has been credited with the implementation of the Section 203 Chinese Language Voter’s Assistance Mandate in Cook County; and the identification, advocacy and achievement of major community infrastructure improvements like the new CTA entrance, new Field House, and new Public Library. Achievements of historical significance credited to CW Chan also included the successful passage of the Voting Rights Act of Illinois in 2011 (nicknamed Chinatown Bill) and the completion of the first ever comprehensive “Chinatown Community Vision Plan” in 2015.